2014 July PASO Magazine

BUSINESS
Paso Robles Inn announces renovation completion
By Chuck Desmond
The grand, majestic Paso Robles
Inn has just finished a two-year,
multi-million dollar upgrade to the
facility.
We simply know it as “The Inn.”
Initially finished in 1891, on what
was then Highway 101 through
Paso Robles, it was within a mile or
so of being exactly half-way between
Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The trip in those days took two days
and thus Paso, the Hotel and the
Hot Springs were each a day’s drive
from one end of the journey to the
other. The El Paso de Robles Hotel
was the perfect spot to stop and
recharge for the next day’s drive.
Have you picked up on the fact
that I have called the same place by
two different names? Yes, I did and
both are correct – depending on
when! The Hotel was touted as having
a fireplace in every room. For a
wood structured building with brick
walls on the outside, what could possibly
go wrong? If you have lived in
our area more than a month, you
are well aware of exactly what did
go wrong. On December 12, 1940
the building caught fire and burned
basically to the ground. The dining
room (now the Ballroom) was saved.
The Hotel was rebuilt and when
re-opened February 18, 1942, the
name changed to The Paso Robles
Inn. By the end of 1953, Highway
101 bypassed downtown Paso and
then The Inn’s address was officially
Spring Street.
With the Grand Ballroom
building, the wonderful formal
restaurant, coffee shop and the
upstairs Cattlemen’s Lounge and
Bar with its balcony overlooking
City Park, certainly there is no
greater memorial to Paso Robles
than this complex.
Michelle Hiemstra
Book Early
for
SUMMER
CUTS!
Full service Grooming
with Loving Care
Your pets will want to stay all day!
DAWG-ON-IT
& KATZ TOO!
619 Creston Rd. • Paso Robles
239-9205 Tues.-Sat. 9-5
Far right, Lori Keller, VP
sales and Kevin Hyland,
Food & Beverage Manager
for the Paso Robles Inn.
Below left, a “sponsored”
room sign by Hope Family
Wines. Center, the Steve
Kalar mural, and right, what
the Inn once was at he second
Pioneer day in 1932.
World famous composer and pianist,
Ignace Paderewski called this
home from 1913 until his death.
There is a private dining room with
marvelous photos of him and a
piano he used, in the lobby of the
ballroom! Famous actors who performed
at Camp Roberts during
The War Years all dined here. Thousands
and thousands of people have
stayed here, eaten here and walked
the gardens. Famous or an Average-
Joe, this was and is The Place.
Martin Resorts has owned the
complex since 1999. Noreen Martin
is the CEO and Margaret Johnson
is the COO of that corporation.
They, the Board of Directors
and the managers collaborated to
put together an upgrade plan that
would take about two years.
Lori Keller is the VP of Sales
and Marketing. For a few hours in
mid May, she was very busy giving
personalized tours during a formal
unveiling of the results. About 60
invited guests were in attendance
and they were treated to some really
yummy appetizers prepared
#
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Paso Robles • 238-6720
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10am-5pm • Sat. 10am-2pm
by Chef Paul and accompanied by
Liberty School wines, poured by
Kevin Hyland, the Inn’s Food and
Beverage Manager.
The guests saw the great upgrade
improvements. Almost everything
on the property has been
modified to a new level of perfection.
Starting outside the dining
room, what formerly was parking,
has been transformed into gardens.
Patrons dining there used to
shy away from the window tables
because of the cars, their headlights
and folks walking past the
windows. Those same tables are
now “the choice spots” to have.
All 98 rooms were redone and 18
of them are now ‘sponsored rooms’
with spas. ‘Sponsored’ means a
winery or Firestone Brewery are
partners. Those businesses have
put their own artwork and style
into the rooms’ decor and have
a personalized logo on the door.
In exchange for staying in one of
these rooms, the Inn’s room-guest
receives VIP treatment at their
winery or at Firestone.
free
$
any pool or
spa accessory
5off purchase
of $25 or more • In stock items only
Fox Hill Pool & Spa Service & Supply
Paso Robles • 238-6720
With this coupon. Not valid with other offers
or prior purchases. Offer expires 7-31-14
case of liquid chlorine
with purchase of a 25 lb. bucket of
1” or 3” chlorine tablets
Fox Hill Pool & Spa Service & Supply • Paso Robles • 238-6720
With this coupon. Not valid with other offers or prior purchases. Offer expires 7-31-14
$
spring
startup
20off service
Includes: clean filters, balance chemicals, overall assessment of equipment
Fox Hill Pool & Spa Service & Supply
Paso Robles • 238-6720
With this coupon. Not valid with other offers
or prior purchases. Offer expires 7-31-14
The Grand Ballroom, which
can seat 200 guests for an event,
has been completely re-carpeted.
The dozen rooms above the ballroom
are special and were transformed
from stem to stern. Just
beautiful! And, getting to the
ballroom from the front lobby
is to take a stroll through the
lovely gardens in
the courtyard with
new art placed
here and there for
even more effect.
Steve Kalar, our
local artists’ artist
transformed a
formerly blah wall
into a beautiful
outside mural commiserating the
area’s cultural history of agriculture.
Such a nice visual change.
The menus have also changed.
There are brand new meals for
breakfast, lunch and dinner
choices. The coffee shop is now a
serious contender for that morning
Java with a full compliment
of specialty coffee drinks. This
provides an honest-to-goodness
breakfast restaurant with upscale
coffees to start the day off right –
and at the end of the day, historic
Paso-style cocktails in the lounge!
If it has been awhile since you
stopped in for a meal or to enjoy
a beverage, come on back to The
Inn. If out-of-town guests are
coming and you’re out of rooms
in your home, they might like
this better! To the management
at Martin Resorts, congrats on a
job well done!
Note: a terrific book titled:
The History of the Paso Robles Inn
chronicles the early years of Paso
and the Inn. It is available at the
front desk and at Pioneer Museum.
any pool or
spa accessory
purchase
of $50 or more • In stock items only
Fox Hill Pool & Spa Service & Supply
Paso Robles • 238-6720
With this coupon. Not valid with other offers
or prior purchases. Offer expires 7-31-14
$
10off
10 % off
any pool or
spa repair
job
of $500 or over • labor only • not valid on previous quoted jobs
Fox Hill Pool & Spa Service & Supply
Paso Robles • 238-6720
With this coupon. Not valid with other offers
or prior purchases. Offer expires 7-31-14
56 Paso Robles Magazine, July 2014